BORIS Johnson, the man whose ruthless ambition to become PM could be about to be fulfilled, has again been in the headlines.

If rumours are to be believed the latest allegation of an affair with a Tory staffer were in fact leaked by an insider on the former Foreign Secretary’s team. On the face of it that seems crazy, but it could be just the latest calculated gamble by a man who has spent his career making them.

There is speculation Mr Johnson’s team released the rumour to 'clear the decks' as part of an orchestrated move to 'get this out the way now' ahead of a leadership challenge. True or not, a lot of Boris’ brand has been choreographed to get to this point.

Whether it is a bumbling performance on Have I Got News For You designed to bring him greater exposure to a mainstream audience, to writing two columns in support of Brexit and Remain, then choosing one to advance his career. Even his recent resignation appeared to happen at a time that suited him, being able to say he showed loyalty to Theresa May's government before Brexit reached a crunch point.

Mr Johnson is the ultimate opportunist, a self publicist, a divisive character. An unnamed minister reportedly recently said: “He’s a phenomenon that defies all the laws of political gravity.”

Which brings me to the endless controversies. As Foreign Secretary one of his ‘blunders’ saw him comment that British citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, convicted of spying in Iran, had been “teaching people journalism". That untrue statement may well have led to her having to spend longer in jail.

In the last few weeks we have seen distasteful comments on Muslim woman wearing the niqab resembling “a bank robber”, and at the weekend comparing the Brexit negotiating position to a “suicide vest” – all written in a column designed to get him attention. That old saying there is no such thing as bad publicity, springs to mind.

In my opinion he is a man of little substance who has now plotted his way to become the bookies' clear favourite in the Conservative Party leadership race. Mr Johnson is the UK's Donald Trump and with cracks appearing in May’s government it wouldn't be a surprise to see him make a move for the top job like Trump did in the States.